Garbage-furnace



2 SheetsSheet -1.

(No Model.)

B. L. WALKER. GARBAGE FURNACE.

No. 584,434. Patented June 15. 1897.

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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2 R. L. WALKER. GARBAGE FURNACE.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,434, dated June 15, 1897.

Application filed December 23, 1895. Serial No. 572,994. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ROBERT L. WALKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Allegheny, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Garbage- Furnaces, of which the following is a specilication.

In the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, Figure l is a side elevation of my furnace. Fig. 2 is a section on line II II of Fig. 3; Fig. 3, a section on line III III of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 a section on'line IV IV of Fig. 2.

The chief objection to previous garbagefurnaces has been their tendency to throw off when in operation offensive and dangerous odors. As a consequence of this fact property depreciates in the vicinity of such a furnace, and it is believed that disease is carried by the dissemination of gases from this style of furnace.

The primary object of my invention is to burn garbage without making any odor, and I accomplish this by the use of three or more fires, whereby all odors and gases arising from the burning garbage are compelled to pass over an incandescent fire before passing up the stack to the open air.

I provide for alternating the direction of the draft by fixing near the stack a swinging damper, so that the two rear fires act alternately as odor-consumers, and when one gets dull the other may be substituted, thus insuring the destruction of the odors by always interposing a white-hot fire, over which the products of combustion must pass before reaching the stack.

I prefer to make my furnace with an elliptical external wall 2, provided with an airchannel 8, as the heat to which these furnaces are subjected is very intense.

5 5 are the usual buckstaves for reinforcing the sides of the furnace and running into the ground. The top is held together by suitable tie-rods, such as those seen at 6 6.

The furnace is divided longitudinally by the central wall 7, provided with an air-chad nel 8, fed by cross-air fines 9 9. This wall does not extend at either end the full length of the furnace, and between its rear end and the forward end of the furnace is a grate 10, and at its stack end is a swinging damper 11, described below.

12 12 are cleaning-out doors in the sides of the furnace and poking-doors by which to stir up the matted garbage.

Near the rear end of the furnace, but a lit tle forward of damper 11 and on each side of central wall, are two grates 14 15.

16 16 and 17 17 are respectively garbage hoppers and chutes, of which there may be any desired number in the top of the furnace, and by which. the garbage is introduced into the furnace. The garbage when so introduced falls upon the concave floor 18. (Seen in Fig. 4 This preferably consists of fire-brick loosely resting upon a concrete bed 19, supported upon arch 20. By making the floor concave the liquids inthe garbage are thrown to the center of the furnace instead of being permitted to seep through the side walls. What liquid filters through the floor 18 will be intercepted by the concrete bed 19, which will soon so pack with ashes as to constitute a hermetical seal to the escape of liquid garbage through the bottom of the furnace. These details prevent the air becoming foul in the garbage-house proper.

The hollow damper 11 is pivoted at 21 and swings against seats 22 23, being manipulated through hand-lever 24 and gears 25, or in any other suitable way. The spindle 26 of this damper is a tube fed with water by pipe 27. The damper itself is best made of sheet metal. Suitable communication is established between the spindle and the damper. To prevent the Water passing directly up through the perforated hollow spindle of the damper 11, I force it to take a circuitous course out to the forward end of the damper 11 by inserting abaffle-plate in damper 11, extend ing from the spindle 26 almost but not quite to the forward end of the damper and by'in serting in the spindle a stop'plate 29. The course of the current is thus up through lower end of spindle, along under side of plate 28, around the forward end of plate 28, along the upper side of said plate back to the upper half of the spindle, and up and out through the spindle. The heat drives the water up pipe 30, which is an extension of the spindle,

2 ssaasa to a tank 31, from which hot watercan be furnished through cook 32 to wash the garbagewagons.

is a suitable bearing for the damperspindle. Alinement of the damper-spindle is secured by guys 35 35, provided with turnbuckles 36 36.

To balance the weight of the damper when full of water, I attach to the spindle back balance-arm 37 and back balance-weight 38.

39 39 are the charging-doors for the gates, and 40 one of the ash-pit doors.

41 is the stack of the furnace.

To operate the furnace, fires are lighted on all three of the grates and bright fires secured. When the furnace is at a high heat, garbage is dumped in on both sides of the central wall. Assuming that damper 11 is in the position shown in Fig. 2,the passageof the draft would be from grate 14 over the garbage lying on the same side of the furnace as the grate. This would dry and partially consume this portion of the garbage. The products of combustion would then pass over grate 10, when their heat would be so greatly augmented that it would be sufficient to consume the garbage lying in the other side of the furnace, as it Would receive the consuming effect of two fires. NVhatever odors or gases escape from either pile of garbage must pass over bright fire at 15, where they would be completely destroyed before reaching the stack and no noxious vapors could arise therefrom. As soon as fire 15 shows signs of sinking damper 11 is swung around against ledge 23, and the path of the draft will then be reversed, running from fire 15, through fires 10 and 14, to the stack. The partially-consumed garbage between fires 10 and 14 now receives the full force of two fires and is rapidly cremated.

The garbage itself assists in its. own destruction,, as it contains from ten to twenty per cent. of carbon. The remaining ingredients are about seventy to eighty per cent. of water and ten per cent. of debris, such as stones, cans, and general debris. WVhen the garbage on either side of the furnace is consumed, the same is recharged and the work goes on uninterruptedly. It will be thus seen that two fires at least are always at work consuming the solid and liquid garbage, while the remaining fire is obliterating the odors.

The reversing damper serves two purposes.'

may be spaced along at desired intervals, butv the number should never be cut down altogether to less than three.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In a garbage-furnace, the combination of a pair of fires; a wall separating said fires; a third fire and a garbagefioor between said third fire and each of said first two fires.

2. In a garbage-furnace, the combination of three fires and garbage-floors located between said fires so that two fires are consuming solid and liquid garbage and the third fire the odors from the garbage.

3. In a garbage-furnace, the combination of three fires; garbage-floors located between said fires so that two fires are consumingsolid and liquid garbage and the third fire the odors from the garbage, and means for reversing the draft over said fires.

4:. In a garbage-furnace, the combination of a pair of fires located toward the stack end of the furnace; a third fire located near the forward end of the furnace; a garbage-floor between said third fire and each of the pair of fires; a wall separating said garbage-floors and a swinging damper near the stack adapted to reverse the draft over said fires.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of December, A. D. 1895.

ROBERT L. IVALKER.

\Vitn esses: v WM. L. PIERCE, LUCY DORSEY IAMS. 

